English Premier League severs broadcast deal with Suning-owned streaming service

England’s Premier League has terminated a major contract with Chinese streaming service PPTV, meaning the digital broadcaster will no longer be able to show live top-flight soccer matches, CNBC reports.

“The Premier League confirms that it has today terminated its agreements for #PL coverage in China with its licensee in that territory,” the Premier League announced on Twitter on Thursday.

“The #PL will not be commenting further on the matter at this stage,” the statement said.

PPTV is owned by Suning, a Chinese conglomerate that bought a majority stake in Italian club Inter Milan for US$307 million in 2016. 

In the same year, PPTV reportedly paid the Premier League around US$650 million for the rights to broadcast fixtures between 2019 and 2022. The three-season deal was hailed as the Premier League’s biggest overseas TV contract but it has now been terminated after just one season. 

PPTV withheld a payment of £160 million (US$213 million) for coverage of the 2019/20 season that was due in March, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. 

Around the same time, the Premier League was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The new season commences on September 12.